The Allure of Blue: Why Writers Are Drawn to the Color

The Universal Appeal of Blue

Blue has long been a color that captivates the imagination of writers and artists alike, and its universal appeal is undeniable. Surveys have shown that blue is the world’s most popular color, transcending geographical and gender boundaries. This preference is often attributed to the positive associations we have with blue— cerulean skies, aquamarine seas, and the calming presence of nature. Writers, in particular, have been drawn to blue because of its versatility and depth, allowing it to evoke a wide range of emotions and ideas. From the moody elegance of sapphires and lapis lazuli to the everyday utility of denim jeans and ballpoint pens, blue is both familiar and profound, a color that speaks to something fundamental within us.

Blue as a Contradiction: Sweet and Bitter

Yet, as writer and critic Vince Passaro notes, blue is not a simple or one-dimensional color. “Blue is contrapuntal,” he says. “It is itself and its opposite: sweet and bitter.” This duality is central to the fascination writers have with blue. On one hand, blue is associated with serene landscapes and the infinite vastness of the ocean and sky, evoking feelings of tranquility and wonder. On the other hand, blue has long been linked to melancholy and sadness. The phrase “to have the blues” originates from the 17th-century term “blue devils,” which referred to the hallucinations experienced during alcoholism’s delirium tremens, as well as the broader concept of depression. This dual nature of blue makes it a rich subject for exploration, allowing writers to grapple with both the joy and sorrow that life has to offer.

Blue as Metaphor: A Writer’s Muse

Writers are drawn to blue because of its immense metaphorical potential. Passaro describes blue as “the most metaphorical of colors,” capable of carrying layers of meaning that other colors cannot. This quality makes blue a natural subject for writers, who are often drawn to complexity and depth in their work. The artist Yves Klein, famous for his International Klein Blue paintings, once said, “Blue has no dimensions. It is beyond the dimensions of which other colors partake.” For Klein, blue represented the infinite and the mysterious, qualities that writers often attempt to capture in their work. Whether it’s the vastness of the ocean or the endless expanse of the sky, blue invites writers to explore the infinite and the unknown.

Blue and Melancholy: The Blues as a State of Mind

The association of blue with melancholy is a recurring theme in literature and art. The phrase “blue nights,” coined by writer Joan Didion, refers to the long twilights around the summer solstice. For Didion, these blue nights symbolize the passage of time, aging, and the inevitable decline of brightness and life. This sadness is not just personal but existential, a reminder of the universal experiences of loss and death that we all face. Similarly, the “blues” as a musical genre emerged from the struggles and hardships of African American communities, expressing a collective sorrow and resilience. For writers, blue becomes a way to articulate the complexities of human emotion, particularly the ache of longing and the pain of loss.

Blue and Desire: The Horizon of the Unattainable

While blue is often linked to sadness, it also represents something deeply aspirational and yearning. Writer Rebecca Solnit describes the “deeper, dreamier, melancholy blue of the horizon” as a symbol of desire and the unattainable. “The color of where you can never go,” she writes, capturing the bittersweet nature of longing. This tension between what is present and what is elusive is a powerful theme in literature, and blue becomes a way for writers to explore the spaces between reality and fantasy, hope and despair. Whether it’s the yearning for a lost love or the pursuit of an ideal, blue serves as a visual and emotional shorthand for the inexpressible.

Blue and Language: The Play of Meaning

Finally, blue’s ability to evoke a wide range of emotions and ideas has made it a fascinating subject for writers who are interested in the play of language itself. William Gass, for instance, observes that blue is a color that gathers meaning in unexpected ways. “A random set of meanings,” he writes, “has softly gathered around the word the way lint collects.” From the “dumps, mopes, Mondays” of everyday life to the “lowdown, gloomy music” of the blues, blue is a color that speaks to the human condition in all its complexity. For writers, this elasticity of meaning makes blue a powerful tool for storytelling, allowing them to weave together personal experiences, cultural traditions, and universal truths into a tapestry of words.

In the end, writers are drawn to blue because it is a color that defies categorization. It is both sweet and bitter, familiar and mysterious, comforting and unsettling. Like the ocean that inspired so many of Klein’s monochrome paintings, blue is a force that is beautiful and tranquil one moment, and stormy, choppy, even deadly the next. For writers, this unpredictability is a source of endless inspiration, a reminder that the world is full of contradictions and surprises, and that language itself is a never-ending exploration of the human experience.